Fountain-pen.



PATENTED JULY 28, 1903..

D. L. WARDROPER.

FOUNTAIN PEN. v APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

\|\||\|| L MN NNN ATTORNEYS Patented July 28, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID LEE FARDROPER, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

SPECIFIGATIGN forming part of Letters Patent N0. 735,004, dated July 28, 1903.

lapplication filed January 2, 1903. Serial No. 137,385. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID LEE WARDROPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, Fulton county, in the State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to fountain-pens, and the same has for its object more particularly to provide a simple, reliable, and convenient means for regulating or controlling the quantity of ink supplied from reservoir to the pen.

To insure a proper feeding of the ink from the reservoir, the following matters and conditions must be taken into consideration and provided for-viz. ,the interior diameter ofthe ink-reservoir, the density of writing fluid carried therein, the adhesion or friction existing between the fluid and the inner surface of the reservoir, the size of the opening leading to the pen-point, and, finally, the size of the aperture in the upper end of the reservoir, by means of which the air may be admitted to said reservoir above the ink therein,whereby the atmospheric pressure upon the fluid within said reservoir may be equalized or regulated.

By means of my invention I am enabled to provide a fountain-pen by means of which the objects above set forth may be readily attained and the disadvantages and defects now common in pens of this construction entirely obviated.

To these ends my invention consists in the novel details of construction and in the combination, connection, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and then pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, wherein likeletters of reference indicate like parts, Figure l is a side view of a pen made according to and embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top view thereof. Fig. 3 is a side View, partly in section, showing the means for controlling or regulating the supply of air to the upper portion of the reservoir. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are respectively enlarged detail sections of the cap, top, and upper portion of the pen.

In said drawings, A designates a fountainpen provided with the customary pen-point B and a removable cap C of sufficient length to forni an air-chamber c' therein when said cap is placed upon the upper end of the pen, and c2 denotes air-apertures provided in said cap.

E denotes the cylindrical barrel or reservoir of the pen, terminatingin a top comprising a centrally-disposed nozzle G of smaller diameter than the barrel or reservoir E, and thus providing a shoulder a', surrounding the base of said nozzle. The upper end a of said nozzle is of truncated cone shape and constitutes a valve-face. b denotes screw-threads provided upon the outer surface of said nozzle G, and c denotes a central bore or passage of small diameter extending entirely through said nozzle G and communicating with the interior of the reservoir E.

Upon the nozzle Gis disposed a top I-l, comprising the solid upper portion I and a cylindrical lower portion l', having an outwardlyprojecting ange d at its lower edge adapted to contact with shoulder ct' of the upper end ofthe reservoir E, and upon the inner surface of said cylindrical portion I' are provided screw-threads f. In the'cente'r of the base of the cylindrical portion I is provided a recess g, Ywhich corresponds in outline to the upper end of the truncated cone-shaped valve-face of the nozzle G and forms a seat therefor.

.I denotes an aperture provided in the top H at the base of the cylindrical portion l' and communicates withthe interior thereof, and K denotes a longitudinal groove arranged upon the outer surface of the top H, which extends from the aperture .I to the upper end of said top H and ,communicates with the air-chamber c of the cap C.

The operation of the pen is as follows: Assuming the pen to have been recently filled and the cap C in positionupon its upper end upon Writing with the pen for some time and after a quantity of ink has been drawn therefrom by the pen in the process of writing a vacuum will be caused in the upper end of the reservoir E. As this vacuum increases, the pressure of the atmosphere upon the lower end of the column of uid within the pen will overbalance the gravity of the fluid,

IOO

and thereby seriously interfere with the I proper feeding of the fluid to the pen. To overcome this, air must be admitted to the reservoir E above the iiuid therein in order to reduce the vacuum and equalize the pressure upon said columnsof duid. This may be readily accomplished in my construction by simply unscrewing the top H sufficiently to permit a small quantity of air from the air-chamber of the cap C to enter the reservoir E through the groove K and aperture J and bore c, the amount so admitted being capable of careful regulation by turning the top H more or less, and thus'unseating the valve-face a of the nozzle G more or less, as the condition requires. When the operation of writing is completed, the top His screwed down again and the valve a. firmly seated.

Without limit-ing myself to the details of construction, which may be varied within the scope of the invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l-. A fountain-pen comprising a reservoir having a projecting nozzle at its upper end formed integral with said reservoir and terminating in a conical valve, screw-threads upon the outer surface of said nozzle, a bore extendinglongitudinallythrough said nozzle, a top removably disposed upon said nozzle comprising a solid portion, and a hollow cylindrical portion extending therefrom provided upon its inner surface with screwthreads, and at its base with a valve-seat correspondingto the valve-face on the end of the nozzle, an aperture in the side of the hollow cylindrical portion of said top extending outwardly from the inclined surface of said valve-seat therein, and a groove arranged in the outer surface of said top extending from the aperture therein to the upper end of said top, substantially as specified.

2. A fountain-pen comprising a reservoir having a projecting nozzle at its upper end, integral with said reservoir, terminating in a conical valve, screw-threads upon the outer surface of said nozzle, an unobstructed bore extendinglongitudinally through said nozzle,

va top removably disposed upon said nozzle comprising a solid portion tapering toward its end, and ahollow, cylindrical portion provided upon its inner surface with screwthreads, and at its base with a conical valveseat, an aperture in the side of said top extending from the inclined side of the valveseat therein, a longitudinal groove in the outer surface of said top extending from the aperture therein to its upper end, and a cap having air-ports therein adapted to inclose the upper end of said top without sealing the aperture therein, substantially as specified.

Signed at the city of Chattanooga, Hamilton county, State of Tennessee, this 26th day of December, 1902.

DAVID LEE VVARDROPER. `Witnessesz 1 L. B. HosTETLER, GEO. R. STILLMAN. 

